MAKING WAVES.

Racing pioneer visits, talks sailing

Dawn Riley, 2002 One Ton Cup winner and the first woman to lead an America's Cup campaign in 2000 aboard America True (supported by Chicago's Columbia Yacht Club), paid Chicago a surprise visit at the Strictly Sail show.

Riley, who recently was an Outdoor Life Network commentator during the Louis Vuitton Cup America's Cup qualifying round, said that since the 2000 Cup campaign, she has turned the America True foundation "from a foundation to win the America's Cup into a foundation to make sailing accessible."

She was in Chicago to promote her line of women's sailing gear from the Chapin Co. (www.chapincompany.com). A percentage of the proceeds will go to support America True's programs to make sailing accessible to women and children.

True Youth programs have been held at Burnham Park and Columbia Yacht Clubs in Chicago.

"We worked really hard to keep the price points down so a woman just getting into sailing doesn't have to make a big financial commitment," Riley said of the water-resistant gear, such as a windproof, breathable all-weather salopette (a sort of sleeveless jumpsuit) for about $200, belted "Dry Bottom Shorts" with reinforced seat for $68 and a dry vest with three pockets outside and one inside for about $100. "That sticks with America True's idea of easy access to sailing."

Over dinner at Erie Cafe with fellow America's Cup alumnus David "Moose" McClintock, some sailmakers and several Chicago sailing notables, Riley said that she was headed to Paris to consult for a potential 2006 French America's Cup effort from K-Challenge.

The 1999 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year wouldn't say whether this meant she was turning French for the next Cup. Some U.S.-based challenges also may be interested in her expertise.

As for the current America's Cup races on the Hauraki Gulf off New Zealand, "Team New Zealand is going to win," Riley said. "Alinghi [winners of the Louis Vuitton Cup--the series that decides the America's Cup challenger] has to figure out something to counter the `hula' [the Kiwis' term for their underwater hull appendage, a design novelty that may give them a speed advantage]. It has to be revolutionary . . . and fast."

Flotsam & jetsam

- Gerry Hedlund, Ray Teborek and John Vandemoer received U.S. SAILING's Arthur B. Hanson Rescue Medals at Strictly Sail Jan. 30 at Navy Pier. They, along with Nicole Rothstein, who also will receive a medal but was not at the show, sortied from Belmont Harbor in two powerboats to aid several dinghy sailors who were in trouble after a cold front packing strong winds passed over the fleet racing in the Jimmy Talbot Memorial Regatta in October 2001. Visit www.ussailing.org/safety/Rescues/index.htm (the account of this rescue was not posted at press time).

- Lake Forest Sailing was named U.S. SAILING's 2002 Outstanding Year-Round Program. Program director Brian Hill was scheduled to accept the award at the National Sailing Programs Symposium, which concludes Sunday in Annapolis, Md. The program also was named Outstanding Recreation Program for 2002 by the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association. Lake Forest Sailing was chosen from among 44 nominees from across the state. Visit www.lakeforestsailing.com.

- If only they had named the boat Nautilus: Irony stuck its grasping tentacles in the path of 110-foot trimaran Geronimo in its attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest non-stop yacht around the world. It was attacked by a 30-foot-long giant squid. The squid grabbed the multihull's rudder blade and hull, slowing the boat from near 25 knots to about 10 knots (28.75-11.5 m.p.h.). The crew prepared to repel the cephalopod with boat hooks and knives, but cooler heads prevailed--the squid released the trimaran with minimal damage to either ocean-going giant, according to crew member Didier Ragot. The squid could not be reached for comment. Despite the collision, recent reports show Geronimo more than 1,000 miles ahead of the pace needed to break the record. In Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," a giant squid attacked Capt. Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus.

- Spanish auction house Gestion de Activos y Subastas announced the consignment of the ship's bell of Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria, flagship for his 1492 voyage of discovery. The bell is the only known artifact of the journey. It will be on display at the Ritz Hotel, Madrid, beginning Feb. 17 and will be auctioned Feb. 20. Bids of more than $10 million are expected. The bell was discovered by Italian diver Roberto Mazzara off Portugal in 1994 among the remains of the 1555 shipwreck of the San Salvador, which was bringing the bell back to Spain. Eight years of research have authenticated the bronze bell to be that of the Santa Maria. Visit www.columbusbell.com.

- Backstreet Boy Nick Carter and his brother, Aaron, took time out from the American Power Boat Association's recent Offshore World Powerboat Championships in Key West, Fla., (where Nick Carter won the Super Vee-class) to appear in a video for the Personal Flotation Device Manufacturers Association to promote PFD use.

- TV coverage of the 2003 America's Cup between Cup-holders Team New Zealand and the Alinghi Swiss Challenge will be on ESPN2 with a preview scheduled for 10 p.m. Thursday (repeat at 11 a.m. Friday). Racing is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17, 19 and 21, and Feb. 22, 24, 26 and 28, if necessary.